Haryana announces Rs 4,000 per acre incentive for farmers using new paddy sowing method

PTI

Chandigarh, May 18

The Haryana government on Wednesday announced an incentive of Rs 4,000 per acre for farmers opting for direct seeding of rice method.

The move is aimed at “giving big boost to conserve water in the state by launching an effective technique for paddy growers”, an official statement said here.

“Direct Seeding of Rice (DSR) is another first-of-its-kind incentive-driven push which has been introduced as a pilot project by the state government recently to promote water conservation. A cash incentive of Rs 4,000 per acre is offered to the farmers under the scheme,” it said.

In neighbouring Punjab, the AAP-ruled government has also announced Rs 1,500 per acre support for farmers using DSR technique.

In Haryana, farmers of 12 paddy growing districts, under the watch of agriculture and farmers’ welfare department’s experts, will grow paddy through this technique during the current paddy cultivation season.

The state government is promoting this alternative way of cultivating rice to ensure that the water conservation movement gets a boost and farmers also get benefit through this, the statement said.

“Each farmer opting for this scheme can grow the crop using DSR technique and there is no limitation of acreage (area) for them to register for incentive.

“The traditional paddy transplantation practice is labour- and water-intensive, while DSR doesn’t require labour and water of the size and scale of the traditional method and can reduce water consumption and production cost by 15-20 per cent,” it said.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, in a statement, said, “It’s another new and unique initiative in the state to give incentive and support to thousands of farmers who earn their bread and butter through paddy cultivation. This will not only provide them a cost-effective method but also fetch them the desired exposure and education about the new techniques to strengthen their practices.”

He further stated, “DSR technique with financial help is another big decision of Haryana Government to inspire farmers to opt for crop diversification, reduce area under paddy cultivation and go for eco-friendly farming techniques.”

Under the DSR technique, paddy seeds are drilled into the field with the help of a machine that does seeding of rice and spray of herbicide simultaneously.

According to the traditional method, young paddy plants are raised by farmers in nurseries and then these plants are uprooted and transplanted in a muddled field.

This incentive-based scheme will be implemented in 12 districts, including Ambala, Yamunagar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Panipat, Jind, Sonepat, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Rohtak and Hisar.

DSR-cultivated paddy plots will spread across 6,000 acres each in Yamunanagar, Panipat and Sonepat; 7,000 acres in Ambala, 8,000 acres each in Sirsa, Hisar, Rohtak; 9,000 acres in Fatehabad; 10,000 acres each in Karnal and Kurukshetra; and 11, 000 acres each in Kaithal and Jind.

To get the maximum benefit of this scheme, farmers have to first register themselves on ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ (MFMB) portal by June 30.

After that the physical verification will be done by a committee comprising of the officials concerned, besides patwari, numberdar and the concerned farmer up to July 25, and details will be uploaded on MFMB, immediately. The benefits of the DSR scheme will be provided through direct benefit transfer to the bank accounts of verified farmers.

Earlier, the state government had introduced schemes like ‘Mera Pani, Meri Virasat’, under which farmers switching over to alternate crop in place of paddy are given Rs 7,000 per acre incentive.